Remote consultations – CSP guidance for your practice

Find guidance on how to develop the way you carry out remote consultations, ensuring it is personalised, equitable, flexible and safe. You can also find help with evaluating and future-proofing your delivery

Are you, your team or organisation successfully providing a hybrid, personalised, flexible blend of remote and in-person physiotherapy delivery? 

This implementation guide will help you in planning your next steps in developing and using the CSP remote consultations recommendations in your day-to-day practice.

Your route to remote consultations
Illustration by James Gibb

Using the findings of the National Evaluation of Remote Physiotherapy Services, the CSP has formulated key recommendations applicable across all relevant services and sectors to guide service development towards a hybrid model of service delivery.

The guidance will to support you to:

  • Reflect on your current knowledge and skills to identify areas that you want to develop further
  • Take steps to contribute to the evaluation of your team’s and service’s working practices
  • Contribute to future service design, planning and evaluation  
  • Find useful external resources to support your day-to-day practice and your patient’s experience.
  • Create a structure around which you can start conversations with your colleagues and service leads/managers

Clinical digital leadership is required at service and organisational level to drive procurement, improvement and use of digital products. It is essential to have a prepared and effectively resourced workforce who have a strong voice in optimising service development to catalysis these changes. 

In our guidance, you will find information for service leads/organisations and for the physiotherapy workforce – although both aspects need consideration to achieve effective service development.

Guidance has been structured under four areas of concern:

1 – Make sure services work for your patients

Decisions regarding consultation approaches should be personalised, flexible and equitable

Guidelines for managers and practitioners
Getting public involvement to do your research project

2 – Ensure the services are safe

Consider your policies, standards, staffing and equipment to ensure a delivery of service that is safe for staff and patients

How to build a hybrid service that's safe for all
Hands clasping each other

3 – Evaluate your services

There are many areas to consider when evaluating your remote services, and changes in practice delivery

Guidance on how to evaluate your remote services
Big data is key to the future of the NHS, conference hears

4 – Look to the future

The investment and research needed to build service delivery that is fit for years to come

Future-proof your hybrid services
several computers connected together